BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The College at Brockport men's lacrosse team saw their valiant comeback fall short on Saturday in State University of New York Athletic Conference play against SUNY Potsdam, as they fell 11-8.
 
The Golden Eagles fall to 11-3 and 4-2 in league action while the Bears move to 10-5 and 3-3 in conference play.
 
Brockport got off to a sluggish start, seeing the Bears push to a 4-0 lead by the end of the first period.
 
The second quarter started with much of the same, with a pair of Potsdam scores to post a 6-0 lead with 9:31 remaining in the half. The Golden Eagles finally broke their scoring silence when John Countryman buried a Jake Giudice set up to get on the board at the 4:32 mark. The 6-1 count would stand through the half.
 
The Green and Gold offense worked to have more of a presence in the second half. The Golden Eagles saw a Potsdam goal to start the quarter, but worked in a pair of back-to-back scores. Giudice got things moving with an unassisted score, followed by Marcus Palvino goal to make the count 7-3.
 
Before the close of the third, Brockport saw the Bears add a goal, but Palvino worked to have the final score of the period, with a Casey Cleary set up giving the Golden Eagles their fourth goal of the day.
 
The Green and Gold offense heated up in the final period, with a pair of scores to open the quarter. Liam Cannon netted his first goal of the day, with Giudice taking advantage of a man-up situation to pull within two at 8-6.
 
The Bears added a goal, but Brockport answered with another set of scores. Giudice found the back of the cage off a Cleary pass, followed by a goal for Cleary to make the count 9-8 with just over five minutes to play. The Golden Eagle charge fell short, as the Bears worked in the final two goals for the 11-8 win.
 
Head coach Ben Wineburg's squad outmatched the Bears in several categories with a 38-30 edge in shots, a 27-21 advantage in shots on goals, more saves with a 19-10 margin, and ground balls with an 18-11 count.
 
Colin Blind and Pat Quinlivan led the Brockport defense with two caused turnovers each, while Quinlivan and Cannon each scooped up three ground balls on the day.
 
Conor Nowak picked up all 60 minutes of play, with 10 saves on the day.
 
The Golden Eagles earned the No. 2 seed and the right to host in the upcoming SUNYAC Conference Tournament. The Green and Gold will host the SUNYAC semi-final for the first time in over a decade, on Wednesday, May 4 at 4 p.m.